Dissim Cast Metal Lighter Design Lets You Light in Any Position

Now I’m not a smoking man, but even I can see the use of a pocket lighter for various situations. Apart from lightin’ up, a portable flame lets you illuminate dark areas, start a survival fire, or provide quick cauterization of a small wound if you happen to get jabbed in the middle of nowhere.

The only problem I have: conventional lighters are awkward to light and tend to burn my fingers. Now some would chalk that up to clumsy fingers but for the creators of the Dissim lighter, they figure this is just bad design.

Tired of burning their own digits, the designers at Dissim spent almost two years designing and engineering an “inverted lighter” which is designed to ignite right side up or upside down. And while two years sounds like a long time to come up with a solution to a simple problem, it kinda makes you wonder why you didn’t think of it in the first place and then, what makes it so unique.

The two biggest design decisions are seen in the angled flame port and the circular grip. These provide a form that mends itself to the primary function of the lighter 1) to light away from the fingers 2) to make it conducive to lighting upside down and 3) to allow multiple ways to easily move it into an inverted position.

Most lighters eject their flame in an upwards direction. While this doesn’t seem like such a big deal, it matters when you have to angle the lighter to use it. You typically have to tilt the flame towards whatever you plan to light and in doing so, you angle the flame towards your fingers.

The angled flame port makes it easier to aim the lighter without having to twist the lighter and your hand into an awkward position. Couple this with the positioning of the port and the switch and the chances of burning yourself become much slimmer.

The other unique design choice is the inner circular ring which allows you to easily position the Dissim lighter right-side-up or upside down. This is more for convenience but makes it easier to invert the lighter without dropping it. An added bonus? t also turns the lighter into a pretty neat fidget toy.

These two features together make the Dissim easier and safer to use in either orientation.

There are another couple of important features incorporated into the Dissim lighter, such as a flame adjustment knob, a fuel window, and a refill valve to make sure you aren’t wasting lighter fluid.

While most lighters you find in a gas station or on the shelves near a grocery cashier are made of plastic, this lighter is made from cast metal materials and weighs 3oz. And, in case you’re wondering, this lighter has a fuel capacity of 2g.

The Dissim Lighter is on Kickstarter clearing its $3500 goal and pushing toward $270,000 with over 5,600 backers. Each lighter has a lifetime warranty – if it breaks they will send you a new one. Options start at $24 for one lighter and $117 for four lighter with cases. They’ve finished their pre-production manufacturing run and moving toward mass production in May/June 2020 with a delivery date of August 2020.